Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today renewed his debate challenge on Datuk Seri Najib Razak, this time suggesting to take on the country's number one by pitting Barisan Nasional's (BN) Budget 2013 to Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) alternative.

The opposition leader pointed out to how Najib had laced his Budget speech this evening with direct insults against PR and told the prime minister that if he was prepared to attack the opposition, he should do so in a debate.

"Debate me. If you are prepared to attack the opposition and the opposition leader, why can you not engage in a debate?

"Confine it to economic policies… or the Budget. I am now reiterating my earlier proposal that we debate ? that I debate Najib on the national Budget… PR versus BN's Budget," he told reporters after Najib tabled the government's Budget 2013 in Parliament this evening.

Anwar had earlier described BN's Budget handouts as mere "titbits" fed to the poor and middle income earners, pointing out that the move would do nothing to narrow the country's income gap.

The prime minister hopeful said the fresh round of cash handouts in Budget 2013 to middle- and lower-income Malaysians was proof that the government was merely concerned with its chances at the ballot boxes in the coming months.

"The announcements of handouts to general Malaysians is just a small dosage for the elections… but the basic structural problem of the country, where the rich cronies and their family members amass millions of dollars of profits through improper means ? that is left intact," Anwar said.

In his Budget 2013 speech, Najib took an indirect swipe at Anwar when he pointed out that among the leaders of the federal opposition were "those who were trusted as leaders to manage the nation's wealth."

Anwar was finance minister under the Mahathir administration.

"We recognise that the BN government is not without fault, but what differentiates us from the other is that they do not have the courage to accept mistakes. On the other hand, they make excuses and find fault in others.

"Ultimately, parties that offer an alternative must be evaluated on their merit," Najib had said in his speech.

"The rakyat know them well. Among them, there are those who were trusted as leaders to manage the nation's wealth.

"If today they make promises, the rakyat must ask why is this leadership, while in power, did not take any action.

"When they had the opportunity; and did not implement what they promises, what guarantee is there that they will fulfil promises when they are in power?" he asked.

Najib pointed out that it was during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s when the country was "almost destroyed".

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today described Barisan Nasional's (BN) Budget 2013 handouts as mere "titbits" fed to the poor and middle income earners, pointing out that the move would do nothing to narrow the country's income gap.

The prime minister hopeful agreed that the fresh round of cash handouts in Budget 2013 to middle- and lower-income Malaysians was proof that the government was merely concerned with its chances at the ballot boxes in the coming months.

"The announcements of handouts to general Malaysians is just a small dosage for the elections… but the basic structural problem of the country, where the rich cronies and their family members amass millions of dollars of profits through improper means ? that is left intact," Anwar said.

He pointed out that disbursing one-off cash aids to Malaysians but failing to address these allegedly "improper" amassing of wealth by government cronies would not help improve the livelihoods of the masses.

"That is our problem ? because the profits amassed by the rich, in the billions, should be fairly distributed to those in the middle to lower income categories.

"Now, all you do is feed titbits to these groups but you do not touch the massive monopolies that have reaped billions from the country," he said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak unveiled earlier today a Budget 2013 filled with more goodies and cash handouts for Malaysians in a move that his political foes believe is tailored to bolster BN's chances at the ballot box when polls are held.

He promised a whopping RM3 billion in one-off payments to families earning below RM3,000 monthly under the second instalment of his highly-criticised Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) and a 1.5-month bonus for the 1.4 million-strong civil service in what is seen as an election budget before polls that must be held by mid-2013.

The prime minister, who is also the finance minister, gave a RM250 handout to unmarried citizens above 21 years old and earning less than RM2,000 ? the bulk of the three million new voters who will head to the ballot box in the next general election.

Schoolchildren will also get RM100 each from Putrajaya next year, while RM1.2 billion has been allocated for senior citizens, children, disabled workers and those with chronic illnesses under the 1 Malaysia Welfare Programme.

Najib also cut one percentage point in income tax for the first RM50,000 of chargeable income, providing minor relief to the 1.2 million taxpayers in a country of 28 million.

The Budget 2013 offers "small doses" of election goodies and fails to address basic structural problems such as cronyism and monopolies, said Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

In an immediate reaction to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's budget speech this evening, Anwar said the budget contained elements of gimmick that was "over the top".

However, said the Permatang Pauh MP, it is a budget that is not based on domestic capabilities and international scenarios, joining the chorus of doubt on the freshly-unveiled budget's ability to tackle the country's economic situation.

Here is what Anwar and other MPs have to say about today's revelations:

Anwar Ibrahim, Opposition Leader

It fails to address the international economic scenario, which is traditionally addressed in the national budget. Secondly, there is the unrealistic position in reference to the domestic capacity as alluded by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (in his comments, see below).

Both of these elements are not touched upon but instead we have a few political gimmicks that are over the top.

The announcement for the public in general seems attractive, with small doses for the elections.

But basic structural problems in this country where the rich cronies and their family members amass billions of ringgit of profit through improper means and fraudulent process is kept unchecked. That includes the monopolies, the independent power producers (IPP) and also the other related agencies.

We have seen massive announcements … but (Najib) has failed – he has no courage to address the issues …

Najib's reference to Pakatan Rakyat's stand on) PTPTN is an irresponsible statement… we defend our stand on this and on several others – Najib did not take into consideration the economic situation and the ballooning budget deficit (that Pakatan aims to tackle to afford its promises).

There are conflicting figures that we will review tonight (at the Pakatan dinner) and at the event on Monday.

Najib dares to attack the opposition but does not dare to debate. I was prepared to sit down and listen to his criticisms, but I want him to attend my speech on Monday 11.30am. He calls himself a democrat, so let’s see.

Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, Bandar Tun Razak MP

BN’s budget is very Putrajaya-centric, where the bulk of the allocation is spent to maintain ongoing government activities, programmes and policies. Consequently, only a small portion trickles down to benefit the rakyat.

Pakatan’s budget prioritises the rakyat. We want to unwind the very activities that BN is maintaining.

We are talking about unwinding the approved permits (AP) policy, unwinding the privatisation of government-linked companies (GLCs) and unwinding 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The federal government is responsible to ensure that the rentier class does not bleed the resources of the people.

They must stop giving such a high profit margin to contractors as this will only encourage them to lobby for a business contract at a high cost.

Abdul Hadi Awang, Marang MP

The budget appears to be just numbers and billions of ringgit for projects, and not about fixing fundamentals and its implementations to benefit the masses.

The large-scale projects, meanwhile, are used to siphon profits for the Umnoputeras. After decades of this sort of budget, the rakyat needs to understand that it is about billions of the nation's wealth down the drain.

Lim Guan Eng, Bagan MP

This is clearly an election budget that does not take into account the fiscal and financial position of the country.

Last year the government overspent by RM20 billion.

The budget will also benefit cronies through projects, so this will be problematic if Pakatan takes over next year.

But I am certain Pakatan, under Anwar’s leadership, will be able to fulfill the Buku Jingga promises without pawning things out to cronies.

Noh Omar, Agriculture Minister

It is a good budget. This is the first time the government has introduced insurance for padi farming. If the farmers' crops are ruined by floods or disease, they will have insurance.

Liew Chin Tong, Bukit Bendera MP

There are no new policy ideas in this budget. It repeats existing policies and gives money here and there to buy votes.

I hope Malaysians know this is their own money. It may help Najib’s personal popularity (especially) among the poorer households, but people have been talking about it for a whole year already.

We are proposing fundamental re-thinking of (tackling) monopoly as a way to improve income, so we can give more cash to the hands of ordinary Malaysians.

Giving money to Rela and residents' associations for crime prevention is like giving money to students for private tuition instead of improving education quality.

It is the same in the police budget, which allocates RM1.7 billion for internal security but RM530 million for the Criminal Investigation Department.

Nasharuddin Mat Isa, Bachok MP

Looking at the incentives offered, it is quite impressive but I question… whether it can be implemented or not, because we are almost reaching the maximum (term) of our session.

There are a few incentives that benefit the people, like the RM250 book vouchers for university students, whom we know really need assistance.

Both Pakatan and the government have offered quite impressive budgets for the rakyat so it is up to the rakyat to decide.

(The speech attacking the opposition) is something we have never seen in a budget presentation, but we understand that the election is close, so each side will use every opportunity to showcase their agenda, and the PM will have an advantage in this front.

Anthony Loke, Rasah MP

(The budget) is to buy off many sectors of voters.

One very clear goodie to first-time voters is the RM200 to buy smartphones – it is a very clear target at first-time voters, and the book vouchers and so on.

And also (to woo) civil servants with the one and a half month bonus. This is the first time ever the bonus for civil servants has increased to one and a half months. The timing is to win their support in the election.

In the budget, there are not much changes to the direction of the economy.

Salahuddin Ayub, Kubang Kerian MP

Pakatan’s commitments are more fundamental, for example free education, and the abolition of the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) through a staggered plan over the next 15 years.

This, and the move to improve the incomes of various states through oil royalty payments is more important. This area was touched on too lightly by the Budget 2013, through the reduction in liquefied natural gas prices.

That is not a holistic approach, when our objective is to solve the problems faced by the people and this requires true commitment.

From The Huffingtonpost.com By Azeem Ibrahim Executive Chairman, The Scotland Institute

President Obama’s recent address to the UN (September 25, 2012) referred to change in the Middle East and North Africa saying that “the path to democracy does not end with the casting of a ballot”.

The President went on to deplore the convulsion of violence in the last two weeks in Muslim countries, in reaction to the “crude and disgusting video” denigrating Islam. He said that recent events speak to “the need for all of us to honestly address the tensions between the West and the Arab world that is moving towards democracy”.

His remarks brought a welcome balance to recent overreaction by international media to the unrest and violence around the world, by acknowledging that the global movement towards liberty and democracy would not be denied.

The movement behind the Arab Spring — or rather the Muslim Spring — has a different connotation in Southeast Asian countries where Burma for example, is slowly transitioning into democracy and Thailand and Pakistan are emerging from periods of military rule. Popular protests and elections have helped bring about change in these countries — some peaceful, some violent — but have been more evolutionary than revolutionary in recent years.

Malaysia too, is undergoing change, but its struggle for democracy has also taken a different route from the sudden change of the Arab Spring; it achieved its independence from British colonial rule in 1957 and has since become an example to the world of what an independent multi-racial federation can achieve.

One of the Asia Tigers in economic transformation due to its continued political stability, Malaysia has been governed since 1970 by a coalition headed by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which has presided over a period of dramatic economic growth and increased living standards. Rapid growth, the embrace of technology and industrialization have been accompanied by generous government investment in education, with the result that Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with GDP growing at an average of 6.5% for almost 50 years.

Today however, the electorate is restless – the young, educated and relatively well-off population is demanding change. They see the government as representing a past that has been overtaken by modernity. Laws remain on the books that should be repealed in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. At the same time, there is ongoing debate over whether the laws and society of Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, should reflect secular or Islamic principles. Conservative elements in the ruling UMNO coalition are resisting change or want the state to reflect more fundamental Islamic principles and Prime Minister Najib Razak is trying to appease his base while offering reforms to the center, described by some as offering “just enough to alienate his own party and not enough to convince the center ground.” (Economist, Feb 4, 2012)

There is one man however, who seems to have a better understanding of the wave of change overtaking Muslim nations right now. Anwar Ibrahim sees his role in the Muslim Spring as reflecting the mood for change from an autocratic and out-of-touch government whose numerous corruption scandals and police brutality prove that government reform is necessary and democracy needs to be up-dated.

Anwar is described as “vibrant, compelling, persuasive” in his public appearances and rallies and has long been a politician of note in Malaysia, being named Newsweek’s Asian of the Year in 1998. A personally pious Muslim, he is also a modernizer, a universalist and believer in democracy and economic openness. His defence of civil society, justice and freedom led to a dramatic falling out with then prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar was imprisoned for six years on politically motivated, trumped-up corruption and sexual misconduct charges.

His years of imprisonment have served to increase his popularity and his opposition coalition now consists of his own People’s Justice party, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic party and the ethnic Chinese Democratic Action party. The alliance made unprecedented gains in the 2008 election in spite of widespread tampering with electoral rolls. Recent further attempts to blacken Anwar’s name are only backfiring on the ruling party and causing cynicism and anger within the wider Malaysian community.

Anwar is aware of the challenges involved in holding together a disparate alliance and dealing with pressures from extremists on the edges. He calls for “active and vibrant intellectual discourse” to resolve differences, with more liberal tolerance of dissent and an end to violence. He has brought Malays and non-Malays together in opposition to the cronyism and patronage of the past and pledges to introduce social justice, openness, transparency, and anticorruption measures.

Malaysia has a number of organizations which stand for reform and an end to corruption in high places, notably Bersih, a coalition of civil society groups whose name means “Clean” in Malay, and who have recently organized rallies to support clean elections. There is also Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), which in spite of government harassment has brought into public light the corruption scandal surrounding the Scorpene submarines deal.

These and other movements represent Malaysia’s maturing as the hard lessons are learned about the paradoxes and hypocrisies of democracy. A ruling party is not legitimate if the electoral process is flawed, “national interest” and “realpolitik” are not a legitimate excuse for corruption and police brutality. Re-definitions of democracy are emerging from the lessons of the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement in the U.S. with affirmation that democracy needs more than the ballot box, but also a free media, an independent judiciary, along with an open economy and incorruptible leadership.

If Anwar Ibrahim manages to hold the center in the next election, to be called before June next year, then Malaysia will make an important leap forward into continuing peace and prosperity, a powerful example of a Muslim country making a successful transition from tradition to modernity, embracing the best of both worlds. This will give Southeast Asia an important example of stability and progressive vision as surrounding countries attempt the same balancing act of race, religion, tradition and progress in a rapidly changing global environment.

Dr Azeem Ibrahim is the Executive Chairman of The Scotland Institute and a Fellow and Member of the Board of Directors at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.